Category: Blog

Forgive me readers, for I have sinned, it’s been four months since my last post.

In my kitchen…

is my Christmas baking.

Every year I make various things as gifts, including eight fruit cakes this year. I was going to do something different, but ended up doing the standbys of gingerbread men, shortbread stars and a fruit mince pies. The fruit mince was made in early 2014 and sat aging in the fridge until I was ready to use it. I have enough for this year too, so they should be really good pies this year.

In my kitchen…

is dehydrated sourdough starter.

The lovely Celia sent me some starter from Priscilla. I was thrilled! She’s been christened Felicia.

In my kitchen…

is my Christmas lunch.

There are just four of us for lunch at Christmas – Mum, Dad and Mr Boyfriend. This year, instead of turkey, I did chicken because it takes quite a while to roast and I didn’t want the hassle. Along with roast pork done on the Weber and ham plus roast veg and peas, it was more than enough. In fact, we only ate half of what I cooked. For some reason we all just didn’t eat a lot and, to be honest, it was an elegant sufficiency.

In my kitchen…

is the pudding!

I make a pudding every year in October using my Grandfathers recipe. It’s rich. Really rich. And it also has its own gravitational pull. There’s still some left in the fridge!

In my kitchen…

is Croque Madam.

I’ve started making this for breakfast on Boxing Day. I have plenty of ham – a whole leg – and it’s a great little treat.

In my kitchen…

is sukiyaki.

Mr Boyfriend had promised The Mothership™ that he would make sukiyaki for us and we had it the Saturday after Boxing Day. It was universally enjoyed.

In my kitchen…

is osechi, the traditional Japanese New Years Day meal.

We decided to get the osechi from Sushi Studio in Neutral Bay this year instead of where we have bought it the last two years. Sushi Studio is probably the best sushi in Sydney. Mr Boyfriend knows the owner quite well, so we always sit at the counter in front of the chef/owner who then makes individual pieces of sushi for us. It’s a little exy, but well worth the visit. AND they have Orion beer on tap!

In my kitchen…

is sourdough.

Celia is a pusher! A pusher of the art of baking sourdough. I will never buy bread again, I swear! The first pic is my first loaf, the second was my second and I was thrilled with the result.

In my kitchen…

are my cookbooks.

I’ve now started putting books on the reverse side of the unit. I have an addiction.

It’s been a while since I last did this so am posting a few things from over the months.

In my kitchen…

is a seafood linguine. A simple dish I threw together one night when I couldn’t be bothered mucking around.

In my kitchen…

are some baked treats.

I was asked to run the cafe for the local Flower and Craft Show here in Blackheath and so I baked my socks off and roped in The Mothership™, Mr Boyfriend and Mr ex-Boyfriend to help. I named it ‘Greta’s Kitchen’ after my Gran who taught me how to cook.

Everything went down a treat and we had a good couple of days – I’ve been asked to front up again next year, so will have to put my thinking cap on and serve up something different next year.

In my kitchen…

are lamb and vegetable pasties. I had some leftover roast lamb and was going through some books to see what I could do with it and Delia suggested pasties – how right she was!

In my kitchen…

is a red cabbage, raw beetroot, green bean and sheep milk feta salad.

I’ve subscribed to a magazine via iPad from New Zealand called ‘Dish’ and got this out of the latest issue. Was very good!

Outside my kitchen…

is snow! We had a late fall of snow this year in October – 20cm in total. And to think the same time last year we were in the middle of bushfires. It didn’t last and we’re back to hot Spring weather and there have already been some fires further down the Mountains.

In my kitchen…

is the start of the Christmas cooking.

I made the pudding, which is an old family recipe and it’s now hanging up in the airing cupboard until Christmas Day. Now on to all the cakes, biscuits and other treats.

are purple flesh potatoes called Sapphire. I get them from Highland Gourmet Potatoes at Eveleigh Markets. They taste just like an ordinary potato. They have purple skin and a purple blush when they’re peeled, though are primarily white – until you cook them! I like them mashed and roasted.

In my kitchen…

is corned beef. And kartoffelpuffers – German potato cakes. I love corned beef and usually serve it with sautéed cabbage, mash potato and mustard sauce, but felt like making kartoffelpuffers this time as Mr Boyfriend hasn’t had them before.

In my kitchen…

is homemade custard. It’s so absurdly easy to make, I don’t know why people use custard powder or chilled custard from the supermarket – milk, egg, sugar, cornflour and vanilla – not that hard. And now the weather has turned, I’ll be making a lot more of it!

In my kitchen…

are hot cross buns. I always make my own from a Delia Smith recipe that I’ve been using for over 15 years. There’s something about homemade over store bought that can’t be replicated. Maybe it’s the love and care and attention put into it.

In my kitchen…

is JFC – Japanese Fried Chicken or karaage as it’s also known. I love doing chicken thighs like this. Served with it is stir fried cauliflower with mustard & a kind of stew of carrot, cabbage and deep fried tofu that you can buy frozen from Asian supermarkets.

In my kitchen…

is a dead simple spaghetti with bacon, four types of mushrooms and asparagus. Throw some garlic and chilli into a pan with some olive oil, sauté for minute or two, then add the other ingredients and cook for about seven minutes. Stir in cooked spaghetti and you’re done.

Along with that I made a bread and butter pudding, but I use croissants or brioche for mine instead of normal bread – you can never have too much butter!

In my kitchen…

well, outside my kitchen, is a Tawny Frogmouth (Podargus strigoides). Dude was just sitting on top of my washing line, waiting for a meal to fly by. Another first, as it’s the first time in over nine years of living in the Blue Mountains I’ve seen one. And he didn’t mind having his photo taken either!